Rambling about reporting (and having fun) in the Caribbean

Connecting to Nature

It’s no secret: We in the BVI are blessed to live in one of the most naturally beautiful places on earth. Since it’s Environment Week, I’m thinking about all my favorite ways to connect to nature here in Nature’s Little Secrets.

At the top of Beef Island

Top of the list, for me anyway, has got to be hiking. Call me a glutton for punishment, but I actually love spending a few hours hauling myself up the side of a mountain. You can take your time and check out all the odd flowers and bugs you’d never see on the flats in town, plus when you get to the top you get to take a sweet selfie with a view. Something about the view from over 1,000 feet gives me a better perspective of the shape of the place I live, and really does let me feel more connected to the nature and geography of these islands. Another perk of hiking? By the time you get back to the bottom, you might be exhausted and sore, but you can also justify the biggest, baddest brunch imaginable afterward.

A close second is a solo beach trip. As nice as it is to catch up with friends in the sand near the sea, I find it much more meditative to go on my own to the most isolated beach I can get to. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should just try it. Go early in the morning or on a weekday (summer in the BVI is great for these trips because with way fewer tourists we lucky residents have the beaches to ourselves). Sit in the sand. Smell the water. Listen to the waves. Watch the ants, chickens or other critters that are sharing the beach with you. No kidding, it’s downright magical.

My other favorite isn’t for everybody: a leisurely float in the sea. I don’t want to brag too much here, but I’m an excellent floater. In the right mood, I can stay on the surface so steadily and easily you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between me and a buoy. The feeling of being out on the water and watching the seabirds overhead, the fish underneath and even feeling the occasional bit of kelp brush along past me is so relaxing I can almost feel my worries escaping into the ocean around me. Maybe those not blessed with natural buoyancy could achieve the effect with a sturdy life jacket?

I’d love to hear how others make their own connections to nature wherever they are.

(This post first appeared in the Limin Times Island Life column June 8.)